Introducing O Yis

[Rik]

Ve Yiso (edit: name now changed) is a new conlang development for my conworld.

Rather than start with the phonology, I thought I'd post some noun phrases to get the ball rolling (I'm sure the phonology will turn up in the next day or so, for those who worry about such things). Hopefully things will become clearer as I add posts to the pile ...

Anyways, some noun phrases to (possibly) intrigue folks:

de Dcon di Már
John and Mary
The case of names is usually e/e, but because names require a honorific the article can often be dropped. In simple concatenated noun phrases such as this it is usually enough to run the nouns together - 'and' is implied.

de Dcon urag
John and I

in máv em de Dcon
John's cat
Here the article is used with the name, to indicate posession of something. Note that when the article is used with a name, the honorific goes between the article and the name.

in harf uram
My dog

ni kjap m'ni zlek il
The chair by (south of) the table
When a postpositional noun phrase directly modifies another noun, it needs to be introduced with the relative particle (m'), which cliticises onto - and under certain conditions merges with - the postpositional noun's article

by radim m'o gner jab
The tree in the field

oŋ máv me de Dcon dcic
That cat very near (just north of) John
The relative particle normally merges with a name article (m'e -> me); the intensifier particle can be used with a number of postpositions, and will merge with postpositions starting with i- (dc'ic -> dcic)

ín to harf
A pair of dogs
Quantifiers are always placed between the noun and its article

ní jan gan
A little drop of water

é rede arig
A lot of chickens
The same quantifiers can be used for count nouns as for mass nouns

ni mein kjap ni mein zlek
Some tables and chairs
Quantifiers demonstrate noun number; they can be ommited if context has already made clear the volume or number of a noun in the conversation, but not in this case.

... y dcabber icjid
... towards (northwards) the shop
The language uses an absolute frame of reference for many of its postpositions

... o riant uram ipjamjer
... away from (eastwards) my house
Posessive pronouns can go between the noun and its postposition

... jol riant jabjid
... into this house
Articles are also demonstrative pronouns ...

... ni réŋg irat m'ni zlek itoxol
... with the ball on the table
... and there are a lot of noun cases (or classifiers)

ni réŋg dos tvel
the red ball
The language has no separate adjective class; instead it (mostly) makes use of nominalised modifiers

ni réŋg em de Dcon do tvel
John's ball is red
Articles get to handle fun things like copulas

o riant uram dc'a kanó
My house is very large
Modifying particles attach to the article, not the noun

g'o riant uram g'a lolór nus
My old house was very small
... but only one modifying particle can attach to an article, thus here the speaker makes use of a quantifier instead of the intensifier as the past modifying particle takes precedence.

[Rik]

The phonology, with an orthographic representation in the Latin alphabet (the language will eventually have its own native script):

/ æ i ɐ ə ɔ u / - [ a i y e o u ]
/ æ: i: ɐ: ə: ɔ: u: / - [á í ý é ó ú ]

/ p b t k g q / - [ p b t k g q ]
/ f ð s ʒ x h / - [ f d s z x h ]
/ ʦ ʧ ʤ / - [ tc c dc ]
/ l m n ŋ ɾ / - [ l m n ŋ r ]
/ w j / - [ v j ]

Syllable structure: (C)(C)(V)V(C)(C)

Double vowels diphthingise as expected, starting at the first vowel and ending at the second. Long vowels never appear alongside another vowel in a syllable.

The language has syllabic consonants - usually acting as clitics. In the orthography an apostrophe indicates that the preceding consonant is syllabic.

Permitted onset clusters (subject to change):
pl bl tl kl gl ql fl sl zl xl hl
km gm sm zm kn gn dn sn zn xn
pv bv tv kv gv qv fv dv sv zv xv hv tcv cv dcv lv mv nv ŋv rv
pj bj tj kj gj qj fj dj sj zj xj hj tcj cj dcj lj mj nj ŋj rj

Permitted coda clusters (subject to change):
vk vg vq vf vd vs vz vx vtc vc vdc
jp jb jt jk jg jq jf jd js jz jx jtc jc jdc jl jm jn jŋ jr
mp mb nt nk ŋg ŋq
rp rb rt rk rg rq rf rd rs rz rx rtc rc rdc
sp st sk sq zb zg

[Thomas Winwood]

/ ʦ ʧ ʤ / - [ tc c dc ]

Wouldn't it make more sense to use <c> for /ʦ/? That leaves /ʧ ʤ/ <tc dc> which seems to make more sense to me since it retains the voicing contrast for t/d.

/w/ <v> is just wrong.

On a more positive note, /f ð s ʒ/ looks like it has some interesting diachronics behind it - care to share?

[Rik]

Hi, XinuX. Many thanks for the suggestions. The affricates may work better as you suggest.

I don't think using [v] for /w/ is a problem; partly because the Romans did it, but mainly because the language lacks /v/. Plus I kinda like the look of it.

[Acid Badger]

/w/ <v> is just wrong.

Why? It's not that uncommon, at least in Europe. German does it, as well as Dutch, Polish and I think Kurdish does it too, but I'm not sure.

But I agree to XinuX, the /ʦ ʧ ʤ/ - <tc c dc> strikes me odd. Is there a reason for this like some historic sound change or something?
How about using <c> for /ʤ/ and <ć/č/ç> for /ʧ/, and writing /ʦ/ simply as <ts>? Just an idea.

But it seems to be an interesting language after all, I would like to see more.

[Rik]

Noun 'classes'
All nouns have articles and, except for personal names (under certain circumstances), the article must always be present in the noun phrase. Articles change according to the noun's topicality, demonstration state, and whether the noun is modifying another noun - supplying eight articles for each noun 'class'.

O Yis (note new name) is part of the Istran language family. These languages are typically isolating rather than agglutinative, relying on clause syntax to supply grammatical information such as grammatical noun case (nominative, accusative, etc). Istran languages also make heavy use of noun classifier words: most of the languages have between 200 and 300 classifiers, with each noun having its default classification.

At some point in its development, O Yis speakers started conflating classifier nouns with demonstrative words and (possibly at a later stage) copula words. The result has been the collapse in the number of classifier groups - to a point where it is debatable whether O Yis is a classifier language with a very limited number of classifier groups, or a noun case language with a very large number of nominal cases.

Prescriptive grammars state that O Yis divides its nouns into 19 separate cases, though this varies by dialect - some linguists argue that some dialects have collapsed much further, with speakers distinguishing between just 6 regular cases (together with a number of irregular nouns).

Case articles were once nouns in their own right, and the origins of each article can still be seen in the modifier sequence of articles. In dictionaries nouns are always shown with their base article (of which there are eight in the formal grammar: an, ni, o, y, in, e, by, ze) and modifier article (unique to each class) to help assign the noun to its correct class.

The noun classes are:
• animal (in/iŋ)
• animate (y/urt)
• authoratative (ze/zeŋ)
• calculated (an/rent)
• communal (in/arid)
• conceptual (o/do)
• constructed (ni/niab)
• consumable (e/pel)
• dangerous (e/dceg)
• group (an/tain)
• human (e/e)
• inanimate (ni/nir)
• locational (y/y)
• physical (an/a)
• plant (by/by)
• relative (ze/ze)
• sacred (o/xo)
• structural (o/tol)
• vegetable (by/byl)

These names are somewhat arbitrary: as the collapse of the classifier system has proceeded classifier groups have been conflated together as much on the phonemic similarities between their eroding classifier words as on the semantic relationships between groups.

Examples:

harf (dog): a communal noun
in harf - basic (the dog)
ín harf - topical (a dog)
riŋ harf - near (this dog)
roŋ harf - distant (that dog)
am harf - genetive (dog's)
aŋ - pronominal (it)
arid harf - complement (is a dog)
aris harf - modifier (has dog-ness)

smal (girl): a human noun
e smal - basic (the girl)
é smal - topical (a girl)
ej smal - near (this girl)
ev smal - distant (that girl)
em smal - genetive (girl's)
e - pronominal (she)
e smal - complement (is a girl)
es smal - modifier (has girl-ness)

dcabber (shop): a locational noun
y dcabber - basic (the shop)
ý dcabber - topical (a shop)
yl dcabber - near (this shop)
yv dcabber - distant (that shop)
um dcabber - genetive (shop's)
u - pronominal (it)
y dcabber - complement (is a shop)
ys dcabber - modifier (has shop-ness)

tvel (redness): a conceptual noun
o tvel - basic (the red one)
ó tvel - topical (a red one)
di tvel - near (this red one)
do tvel - distant (that red one)
om tvel - genetive (the red one's)
o tvel - pronominal (it)
do tvel - complement (is red)
dos tvel - modifier (red X)

[Jacqui]

/w/ <v> is just wrong.

Why? It's not that uncommon, at least in Europe. German does it, as well as Dutch, Polish and I think Kurdish does it too, but I'm not sure.

Since when does German, Dutch, and Polish pronounce <v> as /w/?

Polish doesn't even have <v>, anyway.

[Lyhoko Leaci]

Probably mixed it up with pronouncing <w> as /v/.

[Jacqui]

Probably mixed it up with pronouncing <w> as /v/.

Ohhhh.

[Rik]

Anyways ... Onwards and Upwards!

Noun number

O Yis nouns are indeclinable: by itself ín harf can mean 'a dog' or 'some dogs'. A noun's number is shown by placing a quantifier word (which can be a formal number or an informal measure word) between the article and the noun:

in harf - the dog
in ýc harf - no dogs
in bo harf - one dog
in to harf - two dogs
in jan harf - a few dogs
in mein harf - some dogs
in rede harf - many dogs
in lór harf - enough dogs
in lolór harf - too many dogs
in didcer harf - all of the dogs

Partitive number is shown by joining two quantifiers with the partitive conjunction jer (from) and placing the compounded quantifier phrase between the article and noun. When the second quantifier in the compound is didcer (all of), it can be dropped:

in to jer didcer harf uram as mú - out of all my dogs, two of them are black
in to jer harf uram as mú - two of my dogs are black

[Rik]

/w/ <v> is just wrong.

Why? It's not that uncommon, at least in Europe. German does it, as well as Dutch, Polish and I think Kurdish does it too, but I'm not sure.

But I agree to XinuX, the /ʦ ʧ ʤ/ - <tc c dc> strikes me odd. Is there a reason for this like some historic sound change or something?
How about using <c> for /ʤ/ and <ć/č/ç> for /ʧ/, and writing /ʦ/ simply as <ts>? Just an idea.

But it seems to be an interesting language after all, I would like to see more. :D

Thanks, Fanu.

How does the following affricate solution sound?

/s/ [c]
/S~Z/ [z] (S only occurs in combination with t)
/ts/ [s]
/tS/ [tz]
/dZ/ [dz]

[Rik]

Proper nouns
Labelling words play an important part in the language. A person's name must always be introduced with an honorific word which is placed immediately before the proper noun: for the most part these are words that have degraded over time to the extent that they have no meaning beyond the honorific:

daba (child title)
far (friend title)
cim (sibling/cousin title)
de (younger man title)
di (younger woman title)
dceo (older man title)
dcir (older woman title)
jóst (leader, respected person title)

The choice between de/dceo and di/dcir is set by the relative age of the listener compared to the age of the speaker; in cases where the speaker is unsure of the listener's age, most speakers will use dceo/dcir or, just to be on the safe side, jóst.

Proper nouns are class-mobile: people's names usually take the authoritative or relative articles, while names for pets will use the communal class; names for businesses and associations are generally placed in the group class; place names take the locational articles.

Proper nouns can drop their articles in many situations, for example when the noun is being used in the nominative or accusative case; any modifying particles acting on the proper noun will cliticise to the honorific when the article has been dropped.

Common (non-proper) nouns can also act as honorifics – these are often words associated with professions; when used as an honorific the noun loses its article. Unlike with pure honorifics, a proper noun using a common-noun honorific will not drop its article in the nominative or accusative cases:

xejast (teacher)
zjibbes (healer)

The convention is to capitalise proper nouns when using the latin orthography, but there is no rule requiring capitalisation. The native script does not possess an uppercase/lowercase distinction, rendering the convention moot for most O Yis speakers and writers.

Note that O Yis verbs make no distinction between second and third person, and there are no separate second person pronouns. Proper nouns, or the honorific that the speaker has associated with a name, are deployed in place of second person pronouns.

[Rik]

Nouns modifying other nouns
O Yis is a head initial language, modifiers always follow their head noun. Thus adjective-like nouns always follow the noun they are modifying, and will use the modifying form of their article to link to the head noun:
ni réŋg dos tvel the red ball
ni tcul as kanó the large boat
e smatc ys kvixas the tall woman

This also holds true for less adjective-like nouns:
o riant aris harf the kennel (dog house)
y dcabber nirs rebyl the greengrocers (vegetable shop)

Linking nouns together into a list is achieved by means of postpositions. For simple additive lists ('and' lists) the postposition can be dropped, though it is retained for emphasis when required. For additive lists of more than two nouns the postposition goes at the end of the list:
in harf in máv the dog and the cat
in harf in máv idcim the dog and the cat as well
in harf in máv iqer the dog or the cat
in harf in máv e arig idcim the dog, the cat and the chicken

Proper nouns almost always drop their articles when they are not the first item in the list:
ze dcir Dcán dcir Már Jane and Mary
ze dcir Dcán dcir Már idcim Jane, with Mary
ze dcir Dcán dcir Már iqer Jane or Mary
ze dcir Dcán dcir Már dceo Petyr idcim Jane, Mary and Peter

Genitives
For genitive modifiers, the possessing noun follows the possessed noun, and links to the modified noun using the genitive form of its article:
ni réŋg am harf the dog's ball
ni tcul em smatc the woman's boat

Proper nouns acting as genitives cannot drop their articles:
in máv em dceo Petyr Peter's cat
e to voal em dcir Már Mary's eyes

When two or more modifiers are acting on the same noun, the more specific/intrinsic modifiers are placed closer to the noun; by definition genitive nouns are less intrinsic and are thus placed further away from the noun. The general order of precedence is: Noun – intimate detail (size, weight, value) – shape – colour – general size (big, tall, etc) – possessor

ni réŋg dos tvel as nus the little red ball
ni tcul dos cirt dos tvel em cmas the woman's fast red boat
e to voal dos zoar em dcir Már Mary's blue eyes

Postpositional noun phrases can directly modify a noun; the postpositional phrase is linked to the noun using the relative particle m':
ni kjap m'ni zlek il the chair by the table
by radim m'o gner jab the tree in the field

Demonstrative nouns
Any head noun can change its article to indicate specifity and location (eg this, that, these, those) simply by using the near and distant articles in place of the basic article
jol riant aris harf this kennel (dog house)
eb smatc ys kvixas that tall woman
ni kjap m'niab zlek il the chair by this table
byv jan radim m'o gner jab those trees in the field

[cromulent]

Way cool.

I like the sheer nouniness of it all. That said, I think I speak for the group as a whole when I say: we are ready to see some clause-level syntax!

[Rik]

Way cool.

I like the sheer nouniness of it all. That said, I think I speak for the group as a whole when I say: we are ready to see some clause-level syntax!

Thank you!

It'll be a lot easier (for my poor brain, at least) if I get the NP and VP syntax sorted before heading into the wilds of the clause. Hope you have the patience to bear with me <smiley icon thingy here>

[Rik]

Postpositions
Postpositions follow the noun they act on. Most O Yis postpositions start with the letter 'i'.

The Istran languages use an absolute frame of reference for locative and spatial prepositions, assisted by an intrinsic frame of reference where necessary. The absolute reference system uses cardinal directions for orientation; the direction names are degraded forms of real words: ice (north); morning, (east); warm water (south); and evening (west). Indeed all postpositions can trace their origins back to complete words.

It is imperative to remember that where English has one locative or spatial preposition (to, towards, from, away from, near, etc) O Yis will have up to four equivalent postpositions. You cannot indicate where something is, or where something is going, without providing details of where in the absolute frame of reference that thing is in relation to a second object (or the speaker): icewards, morningwards, warmthwards or eveningwards.

The intrinsic reference system assumes that most immobile objects have a front to the south (sun) and a back to the north (shadow) – most Istran islands are north of the equator. For those objects that have an obvious main entrance, that side is considered to be the front (nose/snout) of the object while the opposite side is referenced as the back (tail).

Location and movement in the vertical plane uses a relative frame of reference, with above (sky) and below (sea) determined by reference to the vertical level of a third object or, when no such overt reference is given, the level is assumed to be at around the head height of the speaker. The sky also represents the future while the sea represents the past: time is equivalent to light, sinking from the bright sky to the dark ocean depths. Movement and location through the temporal plane is assumed to be relative to the now, unless a different point in the timestream is indicated by the speaker.

The body space also uses a relative frame of reference, though here the reference is always the speaker. The eyes see what is in front while the arse represents what is behind, the face indicates that which is opposite (because you can't see your own face). Istrans don't understand the concept of 'left' and 'right': such directionality is handled by the absolute frame of reference postpositions.

Body parts are also used as the origin for a wealth of other postpositions. The heart indicates what is inside while the wind signifies what is outside; the breath lies on the cusp of things – that which touches. The belly takes (acquisitive) while the hands help (benefactive) and also use (instrumental); thumbs point to those who act (passive marker); fingers count (measurement) and accompany themselves.

An incomplete list of O Yis postpositions
ic at, by, near, located north
ipjam at, by, near, located east
il at, by, near, located south
isven at, by, near, located west
ix at, located here, touching
icjid approaching a place from the north
ipjamjid approaching a place from the east
iljid approaching a place the south
isvenjid approaching a place the west
icjer points north, heading north from a place
ipjamjer points east, heading east from a place
iljer points south, heading south from a place
isvenjer points west, heading west from a place
icblez north along
ipjamblez east along
ilblez south along
isvenblez west along
ifuidc behind, in the shade of, north of
ibvad behind
itvim the back of
idem in front of, sunwards of, south of
ivoal in front of
ifjaf the front of
isper opposite, across from, facing
iblez the side of, beside
itoc hanging above, overhead
izaurz hiding below, beneath, under
itoxol on, on top of, resting on, touching
itotcjid up, upwards
izaurzjid down, downwards
ihuc outside, surrounding
ihucjid out of
jab in, inside, surrounded by
jabjid into
ito before, forthcoming
itojid a long time before, approaching
ixol during, at
izau after
izaujid afterwards, a long time after
dci of, for (measuring)
igly for (acquire)
irt to, for (benefit)
ijer from (partitive)
itau concerning, by
irat with, using
idcim with, accompanied by, and
iqer or, alternatively
ibek like

[cromulent]

Say, I was wondering, going back a bit. Forgot to ask. How are multiply-embedded postpositional phrases handled?

You had an example earlier for "the chair by the table," ni kjap m'niab zlek il, that seems to gloss roughly to "the chair the table by."

If you wanted to say "the chair by the table in the room at the end of the hall in the house on the island in the river"--without asking for an actual translation (because you may not have the words created yet)--but just generally, do you end up with something like

the chair the table the room the end-of-the-hall the house the island the river by in at in on in

or

the chair the table by the room in the end-of-the-hall at the house in the island on the river in

or something else entirely.

?

EDIT: Pretend I added a cardinal directional element to all those PPs.

[Rik]

... If you wanted to say "the chair by the table in the room at the end of the hall in the house on the island in the river"--without asking for an actual translation (because you may not have the words created yet)--but just generally, do you end up with something like

the chair the table the room the end-of-the-hall the house the island the river by in at in on in

or

the chair the table by the room in the end-of-the-hall at the house in the island on the river in

or something else entirely.

?

It'll be something along the lines of:

the chair that the table by that the room in that the end of-the hall at that the house in that the island on that the river in.

... ie lots of tasty syllabic m's separating the sub-phrases from each other.

[Rik]

From this point on I'll be using a revised orthography:

/ æ i ɐ ə ɔ u / - [ a i y e o u ]
/ æ: i: ɐ: ə: ɔ: u: / - [á í ý é ó ú ]

/ p b t k g q / - [ p b t k g q ]
/ f ð s ʒ x h / - [ f d c z x h ]
/ ʦ ʧ ʤ / - [ s tz dz ]
/ l m n ŋ ɾ / - [ l m n ŋ r ]
/ w j / - [ v j ]

[Rik]

Fun stuff with quantifiers and nominal particles
Noun quantifiers can do more than measure counts and quantities. Quantifier words can also be used to indicate noun comparisons, noun tense, intensity, negation and interrogation.

It is a peculiarity of O Yis that some of these quantifiers will, if given the opportunity, move from between the article and the noun to before the article and, in such cases, become reduced to a vowel, or syllabic consonant (called a nominal particle) that cliticises to the front of the article.

A noun will only allow one quantifier to be placed ahead of its article (and only if the space is not occupied by a conjunction such as the relative particle m'). There is a hierarchy of precedence to determine which quantifier can go ahead of the article:

• The comparison quantifier (k') will always go ahead of the article; this is because it never modifies a head noun, only listed nouns following the head noun
• Tense quantifiers (g'/galo, t'/tea, e/eten) routinely go ahead of the article
• Wherever possible, the intensifier quantifiers (n'/né, dz'/dzé) will go ahead of the article
• The negator (u/utz) and interrogator (f'/fal) can go ahead of the article – this is sometimes done for emphasis.
• Quantity and count quantifiers never go ahead of the article.

Intensity quantifiers are used to show dimunition (less, little, -ling, -ette, quite) and intensification (more, great, very, just):
ni réŋg dz'doc tvel the very red ball
ni sul n'ac kanó the quite large boat

Both intensity quantifiers (and the negation quantifier) can also prefix to a range of postpositions:
ni kjap m'ni zlek dzil the chair very close to the table
ni kjap m'ni zlek nil the chair a little distant from the table
ni kjap m'ni zlek uil the chair that's not close to the table

Tense quantifiers allow the noun to be given a place in a person's lifeline:
g'in harf em cmas the woman's old dog (presumably dead)
t'ni sul uram my current boat (the one I own at the moment)
e o riant em dzeo Dzon John's next house (the one he's going to buy)

When used with complement articles the tense quantifiers take on the meaning 'is no longer', 'is still', 'is becoming':
ni réŋg e do tvel the ball is turning red
ni réŋg t'do tvel the ball is still red
ni réŋg t'do dzé tvel the ball is still very red
ni réŋg g'do tvel the ball is not red any more

The comparison of qualities of two (or more) objects is regularly handled in a single noun phrase where the reference object, to which the head noun is being compared, takes the comparator quantifier:
de Dzon yc kvixac John is tall
de Dzon yc mein kvixac John is the taller
de Dzon yc lór kvixac John is the tallest
de Dzon yc didzer kvixac John is the tallest of all
de Dzon k'de Petyr dz'yc kvixac John is taller than Peter
de Dzon k'de Petyr dz'yc utz kvixac John is not as tall as Peter
de Dzon k'de Petyr n'yc kvixac John is shorter than Peter

The negation quantifier indicates opposition or denial; it should not be confused with the null quantifier (ýtz) which indicates absence. Repetition adds emphasis:
de Dzon u yc kvixac John is not tall
u roŋ máv that is not a cat
u roŋ utz máv that is definitely not a cat

The interrogation quantifier can be used for asking quick, closed questions:
f'roŋ máv? is that a cat?

[Rik]

Personal pronouns
O Yis has a system of personal pronouns that distinguish between 'self' and 'other'. Pronouns demonstrate number and change according to their grammatical case; there are five cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, dative and reflexive.

Code: Select all

grammatical case | self                             | other
                 | singular  paucal      plural     | singular  paucal      plural
-----------------|----------------------------------|---------------------------------
nominative       | úrag      úraŋ        búran      | úceg      úceŋ        búcen
accusative       | urag      uraŋ        buran      | uceg      uceŋ        bucen
genitive         | uram      rannam      buram      | ucem      cennam      bacam
dative           | rag       raŋ         buran      | ceg       ceŋ         bucen
reflexive        | rarag     raraŋ       babran     | ceceg     ceceŋ       babcen
nominal          | o/xo ran  o/xo ranna  o/xo baran | o/xo cen  o/xo cenna  o/xo bacen

Personal pronouns are generally reserved for people, spiritual entities, pets, and (with children) anthropomorphised toys. Other nouns can be referenced by the nominal form of their article, which are indeclinable.

There is no equivalent to 'you', 'your', 'yours' in the language. Instead speakers use a mix of proper nouns and nicknames (assigned to the relative or authoritative classes), with their grammatical case demonstrated syntactically.

Table of articles
(for completeness)

Code: Select all

classifier      basic  topical  near    distant  gen.  pronom.  complement  modifier
                the    a        this    that     x's   it       y is x      y has/for x
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
physical        an     án       aj      ab       am    a        a           ac
inanimate       ni     ní       nir     nior     nim   ni       nir         nirc
constructed     ni     ní       nib     niab     nim   ni       niab        niac
structural      o      ó        jol     tol      tom   to       tol         toc
locational      y      ý        yl      yb       um    u        y           yc
animate         y      ý        yr      ort      um    u        urt         urc
animal          in     ín       iŋ      oŋ       am    aŋ       iŋ          ic
communal        in     ín       riŋ     roŋ      am    aŋ       arid        aric
consumable      e      é        ej      el       aem   pel      pel         pec
plant           by     bý       byj     byv      bym   by       by          byc
vegetable       by     bý       byj     byl      bym   byl      byl         byc
human           e      é        ej      eb       em    e        e           ec
relative        ze     zé       zej     zev      em    e        ze          ec
authoritative   ze     zé       zej     zev      em    e        zeŋ         ec
group           an     án       tin     ton      tam   ta       tain        taic
conceptual      o      ó        di      do       om    o        do          doc
sacred          o      ó        xi      xo       om    o        xo          xoc
dangerous       e      é        dzi     dzo      em    e        dzeg        dzec
calculated      an     en       riŋ     roŋ      em    en       rent        rec

Noun phrase syntax summary

For common nouns:
• (noun particle) - article - (quantifier) - noun - (postposition)

For proper nouns:
• (noun particle) - (article) - (quantifier) - honorific - noun - (postposition)

For personal pronouns and nominal articles:
• (noun particle) - pronoun/article - (quantifier) - (postposition)

Nouns can be concatenated using postpositions:
• [noun] - [noun - (postposition)]

Noun phrases can be concatenated using conjunctions:
• [nounPhrase] conjunction [nounPhrase]

[Rik]

Verbal grammar
The syntax of the verb phrase is analogous to that of the proper noun phrase:

proper noun phrase:
(noun particle) - (article) - (quantifier) - honorific - noun - (postposition)

verb phrase:
(verb particle) - (article) - (quantifier) - auxiliary - verb - (postposition)

Verb case
All verbs have a case, which is shown through the verb's article; in many circumstances the article can be dropped from the verb phrase. Verb cases can be thought of as a form of aktionsart, though the case of some verbs are not semantically logical.

O Yis divides its verbs into nine classes:

• Stative verbs describe states that have no apparent outcome (think, know, believe, watch, listen, discuss, hope, want, need, own, have)
• Outcome verbs describe states that do have an apparent outcome (choke, be pregnant, arrive/leave, come/go, sleep)
• Momentary verbs show momentary or instantaneous actions (sneeze, cough, blink, swallow, trap, jump, grab, poke, stab, enter/exit)
• Manual verbs involve the handling and transportation of objects (take, give, pick up, put down, place, touch, catch, hold, bring, drag)
• Motive verbs involve the movement of the body (run, walk, sail, skip, dance, drive, ride, swing, climb, fall)
• Spatial verbs describe states or actions that can be tied to a location (rain, snow, hang/dangle, be placed at, live in, live, die)
• Undertaking verbs show accomplishments (calculate, teach, make, build, learn, weave, hammer)
• Sensual verbs relate to the physical and spiritual senses (see, hear, smell, feel hot, feel cold, stroke, dream)
• Oral verbs involve the mouth and nose (say, eat, sing, tell/order, write, read, kiss, lick, breathe)

Verb articles
Verb articles indicate the time of an action compared to previously described actions; they can also indicate that the action is perfect (where a completed action has direct relevance to the current time, for instance the perfect 'I've brought a cake' vs non-perfect 'I brought a cake'). Articles can often be dropped, particularly in non-dependent verb phrases.

Code: Select all

A table of verb articles
Class        Base   Prior     Concurrent  Post     Perfect
                    (before)  (as)        (after)
-----------------------------------------------------------
stative      er     eraz      erat        eras     elle
outcome      e      fez       fet         fes      elle
momentary    a      kaz       kat         kas      al
manual       e      iz        it          is       el
motive       u      suz       sut         sus      ul
spatial      u      yz        yt          ys       ul
undertaking  a      jaz       jat         jas      al
sensual      e      ceaz      ceat        ceas     ella
oral         a      az        at          as       alla

A verb used without its article or auxilliary is imperative. Imperative clauses by definition take no subject, which is usually interpreted as 'you'; if this is not the case then the subject needs to be placed ahead of the verb phrase in its own clause:
xjaot uceg! watch him
rucp uceg rag irt! bring it to me
sébba úrag! I know
t'eb ru, labu itzjer y dzabber! that boy, go to the shop now

Including the article adds emphasis to the command:
er xjaot uceg! watch him!
e rucp uceg rag irt! bring it to me!
er sébba úrag! I know!
t'eb ru, e labu itzjer y dzabber! that boy, go to the shop now!

A few verbs are routinely used without articles and auxiliaries. These verbs can be thought of as yes/no verbs, used to answer questions. When used without a subject, the subject is understood to be the self. The negative verbs are formed irregularly in this situation:

Code: Select all

cna     yes, I agree           úcna    no, I don't agree
sébba   yes, I know            úseb    no, I don't know
zunta   yes, I understand      úzunt   no, I don't understand
senna   yes, I believe so      úsen    no, I don't believe so
gjai    yes, I have it         úgjai   no, I don't have it
xalle   yes, I did             úxal    no, I didn't
vollo   yes, I see you         úvol    no, I don't see you
áqe     yes, I hear you        úqe     no, I don't hear you

[Kai_DaiGoji]

How do you handle postpositions when something is northeast of an object?

[cromulent]

How do you handle postpositions when something is northeast of an object?

I am guessing something along the lines of:

the something m'the object northeast/by

"the something to the northeast of the object"

but the answer of course must await a full canonization by Rik.

[Rik]

How do you handle postpositions when something is northeast of an object?

I am guessing something along the lines of:

the something m'the object northeast/by

"the something to the northeast of the object"

but the answer of course must await a full canonization by Rik.

Most natlangs tend to rely on a relative frame of reference to do the bulk of locational identification, backed up with intrinsic and/or absolute frames to add precision.

Basic: the hotel is 'over the hill', 'across the valley', 'to the left of the mill'
Detailed: the hotel is 'northeast of the mill'

Istrans, who historically spent as much of their time at sea as they did on land, use the absolute frame to supply basic information, with intrinsic and relative frames to add detail if needed.

Istran: 'the hotel is eastwards, and it is opposite the mill'

When push comes to shove north/south takes precedence over east/west (remember that the natural 'front' of an immovable object with no entrance is south-facing), thus even if something is absolutely northeast of something else, Istrans will consider it to be 'northwards'.

Being able to divine the approximate direction of magnetic north seems to be as much of a gut thing as an eye thing, yet many people can learn to do it without the aid of a compass, or eyes - try it: close your eyes and point north. Initially men seem to be much better at this trick than women, though the difference seems to lessen/disappear with practice and feedback.